Plans go in for Aldi store and children’s day care centre in Northamptonshire

Stephanie Weaver

Plans for an Aldi supermarket and children’s day care centre have been submitted.

The application is for a development comprising of a food store and day care centre on a triangular piece of land to the south of the Diamond Centre in Irthlingborough.

The site, just off the A6, is vacant and is near to the Nene Park Outpatients Clinic which opened in Attley Way, Irthlingborough, in 2011.

The plans by Davidsons Developments Limited say the proposed Aldi store would be a single storey building and state: “Aldi has formulated its proposals carefully, to ensure the scale of the proposed store respects its setting, in particular its location close to the edge of open countryside.”

Documents submitted as part of the application, which will be considered by East Northants Council, also state: “The day care centre has been designed in traditional masonary build in a similar style to the existing NHS building, with the addition of glass and render on primary facades to create a feature and will be accessible to the neighbouring communities of Irthlingborough and other villages.

“It will sit to the north of the proposed site at a higher level than the food store to allow for views of the surrounding area, on the plateau that sits above the retaining wall, providing a division between the two elements of the proposed development; the food store and day care centre.”

The plans say the proposed Aldi store would create about 40 jobs as well as additional employment associated with construction of the scheme.

One of the application documents states: “Aldi aims to meet the shopping needs of people locally by providing a network of stores that will reduce travel times and emissions for local residents.

“The day care centre also offers a new opportunity for childcare in the community.”

The application comes as Aldi revealed last week that it was looking to recruit about 85 shop assistants, 25 stock assistants, 10 deputy store managers, four assistant store managers and four caretakers across Northamptonshire to support its existing and upcoming stores.

Stores they want to recruit to include one in Kingsthorpe, Northampton and at Stanier Retail Park, Kettering, which are due to open later in the year.

To see the Irthlingborough application in full, search for the planning page on http://www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/